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The cracks in postmodern economic theories are visible. Theyve spilled into politics, with governments slashing budgets worldwide. The spark came from Richard Thaler (Nudge) and Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow), but the roots run deeper. In 1978, Herbert Simon won the first Nobel Prize for behavioral economics. Thaler later brought the field into public view with his anomalies articles in the Journal of Economic Perspectives between 1987 and 1990. The message was clear: People act based on their environments. Psychology had already demonstrated this in clinical practice; economics eventually followed. With that, homo economicusthe hyperrational actor of industrial modernitydied. Along with him went the playbook of meritocracy, technical determinism, and cold rationality. In his place rose concepts like culture, institutions, purpose, inclusive HR, gender equality, quotas, and languagesocial dynamics grounded in behavioral insights. As service economies expanded, requiring soft skills more than industrial hard skills, behavioral economics spread. But the field made a major oversight: It never invited accounting to the conversation. THE ACCOUNTING BLIND SPOT Accounting frameworks from FAF and IFRS are still designed for industrial modernity: Only positive, immediate cash flows count as value. Everything else is classified as a cost. That means the way a company treats suppliers, employees, communities, and the environment is booked as a loss, disconnected from value creation. Even ESG initiatives are paradoxically punished by the very systems that claim to encourage them. Consider a practical case: a company with 10,000 Google reviews averaging 4.6 stars. From a statistical perspective, this dataset holds weight. It is large enough to fall under the law of large numbersvalid, representative, and statistically significant. It is a voluntary response sample with real-world significance, combining quantitative and qualitative depth. Most importantly, it suggests correlation with causation: Employees, suppliers, and communities are treated with respect and professionalism. That number is not just a reputation score. Its a direct indicator of ESG performance and long-term value creation. It also signals that leadership is competent and that the company is likely to sustain future cash flows, impacting valuation itself. Yet none of this is captured on the balance sheet. FROM BEHAVIORISM TO HYPER-MODERNISM We are entering what could be called hypermodernism, a necessary blend of behavioral insights and rationalist rigor. But the dialogue has barely started. Take HR practices, or todays people analytics. Some companies still measure screen time as a proxy for productivity. Few integrate stakeholder feedback on employee well-being, family quality of life, or the actual value of deliverables. Meanwhile, technology has already solved problems of scale. Large language models like ChatGPT process data in ways far more complex than corporate metrics. A simple 10-word sentence is represented by around 257,000 parameters, calculated in hundredths of a second. Training involves millions of such sentences, across billions of parameters. If AI systems can process that complexity, organizations can certainly design models with 100-200 parameters to identify talent, monitor well-being, and measure real performance. They can even share these benchmarks across industries, just as the scientific community shares open datasets. With web scraping, API mining, sentiment analysis, metadata extraction, and time-series tracking, organizations can measure behaviors and relationships with a precision unavailable to earlier generations. MEASURE WHAT TRULY CREATES VALUE This is the opportunity: to move beyond the hard-line modernist models built to exclude unexplainable asymmetries from the balance sheet, and instead bring those very asymmetries into view through multiparameter models. If we genuinely want to assign value to diversity, inclusion, and the social dynamics that generate wealth, we must measure these effects, not dismiss them as expenses. That requires accounting to catch up, and for Nobel-winning thinkers to help rewrite the rules. FURTHER READINGS This debate isnt isolated. Harvards Impact-Weighted Accounts Project is working to embed social and environmental externalities directly into financial statements, while frameworks like Context-Based Sustainability argue that performance should be judged against ecological and social thresholds. At the same time, critiques of ESG ratings reveal how fragmented and inconsistent todays measures are. New approachesranging from relational metrics of trust and community well-being to AI-driven sentiment analysisare emerging. All point to the same conclusion: Accounting must evolve to treat culture, relationships, and impact not as costs, but as core drivers of long-term value creation. Rodrigo Magnago is researcher at RMagnago Critical Thinking.
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E-Commerce
Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad, whose notoriously brutal rule over the country earned him the nickname The Butcher, was deposed in 2024 after years of bloody civil war. Now, in a surreal cyberpunk twist, according to a report in German newsweekly Die Zeit, the former dictator is largely holed up in a luxury high-rise in Moscow, where he routinely spends hours playing online video games. Assad, who practiced as a physician and was reportedly thought of as geeky during his medical training years, also appears to enjoy stunning views of Moscow landmarks from his apartment, and has access to a villa outside the city. He also reportedly makes occasional visits to a shopping mall below his apartment. Assad apparently resides in Russia under President Vladimir Putins protection, according to Die Zeit. Assad succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president of Syria in 2000. Despite there being initial hopes for reform, Bashar al-Assad ultimately presided over a brutal crackdown on dissent and a 13-year civil war, in which his Russian-backed forces were accused of deploying chemical weapons and bombarding the civilian population with so-called barrel bombs. The German publication didnt specify what video games the former Syrian leader enjoys, nor whether he plays against online opponents who might be unaware of his identity.
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E-Commerce
Michelle, a 42-year-old marketing executive, was scrolling through her grocery app when she saw the total: $87. A year ago, her weekly cart never dipped below $200. Chips, late-night snacks, and bottles of wine had given way to produce, yogurt, and lean proteins. But that same morning, a $900 charge for her GLP-1 prescription landed on her credit card. Whatever she was saving at the supermarket felt dwarfed by the cost of her medication. Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are being hailed as medical breakthroughs. Theyre not just changing waistlinestheyre changing household budgets. And as these shifts ripple through everyday spending, the financial industry has an important role to play in helping people rethink, rebalance, and plan for this new reality. THE PRICE TAG OF TRANSFORMATION GLP-1s arent cheap. Out-of-pocket, they run $500 to $1,300 a month. Thats as much as a car payment, or a mortgage in some parts of the country. People using them are often reshuffling their budgets to afford the drugs. Many think about it like another utility bill: essential, non-negotiable, and something they can plan their whole month around. Still, users often find savings elsewhere: fewer restaurant meals, less alcohol, smaller grocery runs. Some even report that the math comes closer to breaking even than expected. WHERE THE MONEY GOES NOW Losing weight changes more than the number on a scale. People cycle through three or four clothing sizes in a single year. Gym memberships and boutique fitness classes suddenly feel worth the money. Trips once avoided now get booked. GLP-1s arent just about shrinking waistlines. They open doors people may have kept shut for years, and with that comes a new set of financial decisions. Affluent households can absorb both the prescriptions and the lifestyle upgrades that follow. But for families living paycheck to paycheck, these medications arent just expensive. Theyre simply out of reach. THE EMOTIONAL ECONOMICS With new health often comes new confidence. People may invest more in savings accounts, 401(k)s, or long-delayed experiences. But the flip side is anxietythe fear of relapse or losing access if coverage changes. That can drive spending on coaches, supplements, or nutrition programs to try to lock in results. This duality is real. Weve seen people feel free enough to book the beach trip theyve dreamed about, and weve seen others overspend chasing every add-on that promises to make results last. When health changes this dramatically, peoples money habits have to change too. Thats where financial education comes in, helping people build financial resilience so the gains arent just physical, theyre sustainable. WHEN HEALTH EQUITY MEETS FINANCIAL EQUITY The GLP-1 boom highlights a blunt truth: Wealth buys health. GLP-1s have created a new form of inequity. Those that can afford them have a better chance of living healthier and perhaps longer. Those that cant afford them, nothing changes. Access to health shouldnt depend on access to wealth. Theres a role for financial institutions here. Banks and credit unions can make innovation work for people looking to live a healthier life. Budgeting tools, fair loans, more transparent buy-now-pay-later programs, even text alerts for prescription rebatesthese are the kinds of things that can close the gap, and allow for better health. Financial institutions cant make the drugs cheaper, but we can give people more room to breathe financially. RIPPLE EFFECTS ACROSS INDUSTRIES Food companies are already adjusting as grocery carts shrink. Fashion retailers are expanding sizing in both directions. Resale sites are buzzing with transitional wardrobes. Wellness clinics and med spas are seeing record demand. The open question is whether financial institutions will adapt in the same way, stepping in as partners in resilience. They can, if health and finance leaders are willing to work together. GLP-1s dont just change bodies. They change what shows up on a credit card statement. For some, thats empowering. For others, its destabilizing. If GLP-1s are the health revolution of our time, then financial literacy and inclusion have to be the companion revolution. Edwin Endlich is president of the National Association for Financial Literacy and Inclusion (NAFLI). Ana Reisdorf, MS, RD is founder of GLP-1 Hub.
Category:
E-Commerce
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